February's "Affetto"

Oscar and I have this thing where we speak in accents to each other (Oscar especially). When we really like or really hate something, we will say it with a flair..it kinda sounds like this: " I jest eh luvet theeze zing". Conversely, when something is not so pleasing Oscar might say, "eeen my cuhntri we hab a werd for thiz, eh... papaniplush!... it meens, thiz sucks" (excuse the crassness). Anyway, I thought since it's been so long since our last post and being that tomorrow is Valentine's Day I would write about the things we both love but which probably not many of you know of-the small, everyday, trivial, (maybe superficial) things. When deciding what to name the post, I thought that I would write the Arabic word for love (since that is what Oscar's accent sounds like to me when he talks about the things he loves) but thanks to my friend IGoogle I discovered that no one would understand the characters. So I decided to title it "Affetto", which is Italian for "love" or "affection";our play accent sometimes sounds Italian-y or French-y to me. Anyway, I hope you enjoy reading it,and if it seems a little weird just remember this is probably more entertaining than my other idea for a Valentine's post-gushing about how much I love my hubby :D

Oscar and Fabi's newly discovered affetto's (yes, we mutually love these, which in and of itself is a cause for celebration!):

1- The Bachelor. I mean, we are ADDICTED to this show since the new season with Jason started. Every Monday Bianca, Oscar and I will rush to the t.v. and watch this show as if it wasn't staged and Jason was family. (Maybe I should have labeled this post DONT JUDGE US).

2- Creme Brulee. Oh my GOODNESS. I tried it for the first time in Las Vegas at the Treasure Island Buffett, and none of us could get enough of it! Seriously, Jr, Bianca, Oscar and I probably ate 4 little dessert plates each!

3- Ben and Jerry's Creme Brulee Icecream. This one is obvious.

4- Ben and Jerry's Pumpkin Ice Cream with a graham cracker swirl. Did Ben and Jerry not have a wife? If so, did they purposefully want her overweight????

5- Le PETIT ECOLIER butter bisquits topped with pure dark chocolate. One of my Japanese students gave me a box of these French cookies for Valentine's Day-and I thought Oreo's were good!

6-Adagio.com teas. JR discovered this gourmet tea site on the internet and ordered about 6 flavors of their herbal (of course) teas. Seriously, I had my doubts, but the smell alone erased them all. They are very savory and now I am afraid I can't go back to good 'ol Bigelow (or maybe I can if the economy stays the way it is).

7-True Beauty. Yes, its another reality show. In Bianca's, Oscar's and my defense, it used to be on immediately following the Bachelor so it isn't like we went out looking for it...we just kinda got hooked.

8-Lindt Lindor Stracciatella Truffles. These have a white chocolate shell with cocoa pieces and a smooth filling inside. Another Valentine's Day from a Japanese students. They definietely have a good taste in chocolate!

9-Kanye West's LOVE LOCKDOWN. Don't ask. It puts us in a happy, lovey-dovey mood.

10-The group Dispatch. Oscar found them on Pandora.com, they have a similar style to the Dave Matthews Band which Oscar loves and I am beginning to appreciate.

DISCLAIMER: Oscar WILL NOT admit to about 5 of these, but it's true :D

Christmas Holidays

We certainly had a very fun (and well deserved) Christmas break. Sadly, it didn't feel much like Christmas probably because of the stinkin' weather (brown all around). Still, it was nice to be with our family and take some time off from work and school and everything else that's just not so much fun. Christmas eve we spent at my mom's house, with our grandparents and Kris and Chip. It was a little sad because Ariel wasn't there with his goofy comments and crazy personality, but we were able to speak to him on the phone and say hello. Because there were less than 10 people it was very intimate but nice, this time we actually got to talk to each other and play some board games. Of course, no holiday is complete without a little bit of Rock Band for my 5 year old. :D. Good thing Alexa and Chip were more than happy to play with him.












We spent the rest of Christmas Eve with Oscar's side of the family, which is always a HUGE reunion. It was nice having a small and a not-so-small family reunion because I felt like we got the best of both worlds...plus we get to eat twice! We had a Christmas story (which is a very nice tradition), afterwards the kids had their gift exchange and the adults had a white elephant. Christmas day was a little bit more relaxed, we had dinner with the Flores side of the family and spent the rest of the evening with Oscar's parents and siblings. The 30th we also celebrated JR's birthday (my brother-in-law) at a very delicious italian restaurant on the northeastern side of town. All of our immediate Escobar family was there, as well as JR's parents and sister, with a couple of his friends. We had a very good time, JR's birthday gives us a chance to continue the Christmas festivities, because not only is the family together on Christmas Eve, Day and New Year's Eve, Day but on his bday as well. New Year's was a little more relaxed for us this year than Christmas because of our Las Vegas trip the following day! Still, we managed to have a good time at Tia Dora's. We ate pozole and bu~uelos, and broke a pi~ata which has become a tradition for the Chavez family. We get to divide our family time quite neatly on the holidays because the Escobar's don't start doing anything till it is almost midnight, and by that time (and you probably know this if you know Kristal or my dad) the Chavez family is already winding down. I love the holidays and I know it is waaaaay too early but I can't wait for Christmas again. Except next time, I hope I won't have a cold sore in all my pictures, lol. :D